Is Joe Biden too old to be running for a second term? Some think so — 81 is a big number, with 85 looming 4 years later. But they might be wrong. As a physician, I look at risk factors. Being old is just another factor, like being heavy risks diabetes, and sunbathing risks melanoma. What are the risks of being old? There is a dreadful stereotype of an “old man”: He dodders with a frail body, weak memory, depleted energy and compromised reasoning ability. He lives in the past and looks liable to collapse at any time. Let’s call that Type I, toxic old age. It’s a risk of old age, but it’s not inevitable. There is another type of old…
